11 Creative Outdoor Lighting Ideas to Brighten Up Your Yard

String lights, path lights, and hang down lights are a few creative outdoor lighting ideas. For more ideas, check out this article on outdoor lights.

Outdoor lighting can improve the overall aesthetics of your house. Placing beautiful lighting systems in your yard will make it stand out from the rest of the neighborhood. Apart from the aesthetics, it also allows you to move around outside easily and increases security.

If you wish to decorate your yard with beautiful lighting, here are some creative ideas you should consider.

1. Security Lighting

Security lights are powerful and illuminate your entire yard with just one or two lights. If you feel like holding various activities in your yard and you need many lights, install two security lights on two corners of your yard.

 Your installed lights may become damaged over time. When such problems occur, it is best to call your local electrician. Fortunately, there are many professional electricians in Charleston, South Carolina who are experienced.

 2. String Lights

You can hang lights on strings around the yard, or place a pole in the middle of the yard and have strings spread out on the four corners of the yard.

 This is a great way to light up the place if your yard is spacious. Spreading out string lights on smaller yards will make the yard feel congested and cramped up.

3. Hang Down Lighting

If you wish to use string lights on smaller yards, then you can make them hang down from the roof of your house to the ground. It will not take up much space while adding a distinctive style to your yard.

You can also make them hang downwards from the fences around your yard to brighten up space.

4. Spotlights

Spotlights are not only for big flashy shows. You can decorate your yard with small spotlights. There are different types of spotlights, but the ones perfect for any yard would be Parabolic Aluminized Reflector lights. They are effective in lighting up a small concentrated area like yards.

5. Stair Lighting

Some yards are in elevated landscapes and require stairs to go up and down. If your yard has stairs then try adding some lights to it.

These lights will be effective in decorating the stairs and will make moving around in the night safer. You can install small LED lights on the side of the stairs, or have small lights installed in the area between each step. You can choose the color of the light that contrasts well with the color of the stairs.

 6. Path Lights

These are small yet bright lights installed around the pathway of your yard. It is bright enough to allow you to navigate smoothly around the yard, but not too bright to ruin the beauty of the night.

 You can pick LED lights, but incandescent lights are perfect for this. You can also install them beside any special features like a fountain or small pond in your yard. Make sure your path lights are 12-15V because any more than that would be too bright for the night.

 7. Outdoor Wall lighting

Strings lights completely depend on the strings and if they are hung down, they might get torn or damaged because of frequent collision with the walls. To compensate for that, you can directly install lights on your wall to have a similar effect.

 These outdoor lights can be installed on any vertical surfaces like walls, fences, and gates. Since most houses in Charleston, South Carolina have fences around the house, this can be a great idea.

8. Tiki Torches

If you want your yard to look exotic and enchanting, then tiki torches are a perfect choice. They are like path lights but are installed on a pole; instead of bright LED or iridescent light, it uses fire.

 It can be a fun party light as well. Just be careful when you have too many guests. After all, a fire hazard is the last thing you would want at your party.

9. Outdoor Lanterns

Another traditional lighting method for your yards. Lights you see today all originate from the concept of lanterns. Lanterns can illuminate your yard and give a vintage vibe.

 You can add colored lanterns for some colorful lights in your yard. Some modern lanterns have incandescent lights inside. If you are using lanterns, it is obviously better to install traditional lanterns than modern ones.

 You can even make lanterns yourself. You can make it out of jars, and hang them around the yard like string lights. This helps you brush up on those DIY skills and gives you a chance to show off some creativity.

 10. Chandelier Lights

This one is a fancy idea to really spruce up your yard. Chandelier lights have been the staple light for decorating rooms all around the world, but it is mostly seen indoors in large living rooms.

 To install it outdoors, you need to have something to hang the chandelier. If you have a big tree in your yard, you can hang it from one branch, or have a separate pole installed and hang the chandelier lights there. Or you can simply hang it from the porch ceiling.

 Chandeliers are very common in Charleston. If your lawn is small and cannot hold a big chandelier, a small pendant light will suffice.

 11. Ground Lights

Ground lights are small lights installed inside the ground and have a small protective glass covering on top of them. They are also known as good lights. You can mount these lights alongside the pathway just like path lights.

These are perfect if you have a stone pathway or any kind of path in your backyard and front yard.

 Final Thoughts

The perfect lighting can make your yard look much more appealing at night. You can use multiple lights from the list above or focus on a single theme. Bright lights can make the place look playful, while dimmed lights can offer a more relaxing and romantic feeling. Whichever you choose, make sure you take safety precautions while setting them up.